Global ratings agency Fitch says it’s revising the way it rates Islamic bonds. While keen to emphasise the changes will not affect existing ratings, the new criteria will link ratings of asset-backed sukuk to those of the transaction’s originator.
Meanwhile the sukuk industry is picking up at the end of a particularly volatile summer. Trading volumes are up over 50% compared to this time last year, and currently stand at just over $15 billion.
Abu Dhabi’s First Gulf Bank issued a $650 million sukuk in July that was oversubscribed six times. Malaysia, too, continues to drive the market with a $2 billion offering last month. And plans for a $500 million sukuk are under way in Khazakhstan.
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